Cognitive skills and mental health among child victims of armed conflicts and conditions of socioeconomic vulnerability in Colombia

Abstract

Internal armed conflicts dramatically affect vulnerable populations, especially children. Such traumatic events negative affect mentalhealth, including emotional, cognitive, and behavioral well-being. The present study sought to identify cognitive, emotional, and social cognition states and characteristics of a child population who were victims of forced displacement that was caused by the armed conflict in Colombia. The sample consisted of 140 children, including childvictims of displacement (47 girls and 58 boys) and a comparison group(36 participants; 14 girls, 21 boys) who attended school and lived in relocation zones. Comparative and correlational analyses were performed to examine child outcomes between groups. The results indicated that the victim group had a higher risk, as reflected by scores on clinical and adaptive scales, compared to the comparison group. However, significant differences in performance were observed between the groups in terms of executive functioning tasks and theory of mind. The group of children exposed to displacement processes within the context of the Colombian armedconf lict exhibited better performance in these domains compared to a population without this background, who resided in socially vulnerable areas. These findings provide evidence that children who have experienced displacement because of armed conflict exhibit significant cognitive impairments in tasks related to cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and social cognition. Importantly, these difficulties extend observed among individuals residing in socially vulnerable environments. In fact, the cognitive performance of children without a history of displacement is inferior.